A Thorough Orientation Sets Your Nanny up for Success
You’ve completed the interviews, narrowed the search, presented an offer and you’ve found yourself with a new nanny! After all that, it can be tempting to throw your nanny into the deep end by having her jump in day one, but families who implement these six steps experience exponential long-term success by establishing clear communication and expectations.
- Provide a tour of your home: Give your nanny a detailed tour of your home. Distinguish if there are specific areas or rooms that you do not want your nanny to enter or use.
- Establish professionalism and boundaries: Your nanny is like a part of the family, but they are also in their workplace. It is important to establish boundaries right off the bat. This means you will schedule regular reviews, and both avoid oversharing personal details.
- Review your expectations: It is important to review your expectations so your nanny has a clear understanding of their work. Go over any specific instructions to do while they are caring for your children. For example, if you are following a strict schedule, we recommend you make this clear to your nanny up front.
- Discuss household rules: How do you run your home? Your nanny needs to know your children’s boundaries, rules, and your approach to discipline so that they can follow your wishes.
- Show mutual respect: Nannies need to know that you value them as much as they value you. This might be a good time to mention any planned vacations/trips, any schedule variances, how much notice you will be giving if that changes, explaining how PTO is accrued, the notice you are requesting for time off, and both of your preferred mode of communication (text, call, etc.).
- Regroup: At the end of the week, it’s helpful to take some time to discuss how everything went. Ask your nanny questions such as What is going well? What do you need more clarification on? This will help reduce future issues and create a clear line of communication between you and your nanny.
BONUS: If you want to start things off with a bang, we love these ideas from our colleagues that to celebrate your nanny’s first day.
If you follow these steps, you will be off to a great start! Please reach out if you need any further advice or we can assist you in any way!